Where Angels Fear to Tread
by TheLostMaximoff
Summary: Marrow fic. In the midst of the massacre, little Sarah comes to a realization that will change her life forever.


Where Angels Fear to Tread

By TheLostMaximoff

Disclaimer: Don't own these characters. I seem to be on a Marrow kick lately and since I'm done playing X-Men Legends I can go back to writing fan fics. Enjoy if you like and R/R.

Sarah was a silly girl. She loved to play games of all kinds. Life in the tunnels allowed her to become very good at hide-and-seek. She was the best hider ever. All the kids told her so.

"Sarah?" She heard her mother calling for her and giggled. No one wanted to play with her that day except for her mother. Mommma always played with her. Momma always loved her. It wasn't very easy though. Sarah was stubborn and headstrong. She had bones sticking out of her in places where they most certainly shouldn't be. Still, Momma loved to play with her.

"Sarah, you should come out now. There's something strange going on here and I want you to be safe. We can play more later but right now you need to come out." She giggled again. It was a game after all. Momma was being tricky and crafty. Sarah curled up in her spot, refusing to be swindled.

"Sarah? Come on, sweetie, I mean it," stated Momma. To punctuate the sentence, other noises filled the tunnels. Pops and bangs echoed mournfully down the tunnels. There were screams too, inhuman howls of pain and anguish. Sarah crept from her spot.

"Momma?" asked Sarah cautiously. She walked over to Momma and looked behind her. There was a low growl as something sprang from the darkness. Its claws flashed in the dim light as it tore into Momma.

"Momma!" cried Sarah, "What's happenin'?" She never received an answer, not for many years to come after this horrid night. The creature cackled long and malevolently as Momma's body slumped to the floor in front of little Sarah.

"Run!" hissed Momma with the last breath that would escape her. Sarah heard the command but couldn't obey. She gazed into the murderous eyes of her attacker and froze with fear. The thing was vaguely human but was large and hairy like a wild beast. Sarah averted her gaze from the creature and returned it to Momma. Blood ran freely from the body and stained the concrete floor of the tunnel. The creature growled again and looked hungrily at Sarah. The growl somehow kick-started Sarah's brain again and her legs received the command to run. She heeded the order.

"I like a good chase, runt," sneered the beast. Sarah was surprised it could speak. What was it and why had it killed Momma? Her mind couldn't answer those questions. All her brain was capable of at this moment of pure terror was getting her legs to carry her as far away from the beast as she could get. She was too afraid to look back. She didn't have to worry about that. Looking around her was enough to scare her to death.

The floor was slick with blood. The foul stench of death hung in the air and threatened to choke her. She knew the creature was behind her. She could feel the hot breath on the back of her neck, real or imagined, and the haunting bloodshot eyes trailing her every move. She ducked through the maze of pathways, trying in vain to find life amidst the slaughter and shelter from the darkness. There was none of either to be found. No Momma, no Callisto, no one. They were all gone.

"Keep it up, kid," taunted the beast, "I like a workout before my meal." Was it really going to eat her? Sarah had seen the thing slay her own mother. Eating a child would hardly be out of its league. This thought made Sarah panic even more. She had heard tales of monsters and seen some when she had a nightmare. Maybe all this was just a nightmare. Maybe she could just wake up and end it all right now. Maybe Momma would still be alive and they could play together for eternity. Sarah blinked her eyes hard and willed herself to wake up from this horrid dream. It wouldn't work. This world was a walking nightmare and there was nothing she could do to escape it. Sarah turned a corner and suddenly stopped. She remained deathly quiet as she listened. She couldn't hear the creature anymore. She looked around and didn't see any bodies. Maybe she really had awakened from the dream.

"Hello?" asked Sarah. There was no reply. She crept down the tunnel. This tunnel wasn't used very much by the Morlocks. The Alley was so huge and labyrinthine it was too easy to get lost forever in it. Sarah welcomed that fact now. She may be lost but at least she was safe from the monster with its sharp claws and fangs. When whatever was going on was over maybe she could retrace her steps and try to find Callisto and the others again. Things would be okay again then.

Sarah stopped as she heard something. Her heart sprang up into her throat and her stomach become queasy. Was it the monster again? Did it finally catch up to her? She listened again and realized it wasn't the monster. It was the groan of someone in pain. Was someone else still alive down here? She followed the direction of the noise. When she got close enough to see where it was coming from she stopped and stared in awe.

Momma had told her stories about angels. Momma was a God-fairing woman and believed in angels. Sarah had never exactly understood it all but angels she understood. Angels were beautiful creatures from heaven. They only came down to Earth to help people in need. She knew she and the rest of the Morlocks were in need now. She stared at the figure pinned to the wall. He was handsome and beautiful just like angels were supposed to be. People like him weren't seen in the tunnels. The tunnels were for dark things, evil and monstrous things that no one on the surface wanted. The angel's hair was golden and his wings the purest of white. She gasped in horror. Someone had pinned him to the wall by his wings! She heard the crackle of the energy surrounding the spears and stared at them. What kind of animals could do something like this to an angel? Sarah felt herself begin to cry. They couldn't do this, it wasn't right. She looked at the angel again and noticed something. The uniform he wore had a big "X" on it.

Sarah had heard stories about the "X" and the people who wore it. They were upworlders, mutants who lived on the surface. They were not to be trusted, their minds backwards and blinded by some foolish dream of ideal existence. Sarah stared at the body again and it hit her. This wasn't an angel; it was just some other dying mutant. She felt cheated. Where was someone to save her? Didn't she matter anymore? Didn't she deserve to live?

"Time to die, runt," snarled the beast as he finally approached her. The words chilled Sarah's spine. She turned and faced the beast. It was so very clear now. Maybe on the surface there were angels and a God who loved everyone but down here none of it mattered. Down here, in the pit of humanity's refuse and scum, there was no God and there were no angels to save her. Only two things were born in darkness, demons and monsters. Sarah knew she was the monster and it was time for the monster to die. She knew she could no longer run and that any hope of being saved was futile. After all, in a place where angels could so easily fall, what chance did one little girl have of keeping her soul intact?


End file.
